Almost half the recording devices installed in police cars in Taipei are broken, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors said yesterday, urging the Taipei City Government to improve the surveillance system.
Taipei City’s Police Department first purchased the recording devices in 2002 and installed the devices in 199 police cars to be used in surveillance and evidence collection.
A total of 98 devices, however, are broken, while 50 new devices purchased by the department this year were not checked until last week, DPP Taipei City Councilor Lee Ching-feng (李慶鋒), Chien Yu-yen (簡余晏) and Independent Councilor Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘) said yesterday at the Tatung Police Station.
“The device is important for collecting evidence and clarifying responsibilities at crime scenes and accident sites. How can we trust the police if their devices are broken all the time?” Chien said.
Lee blamed Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) for budgeting more than NT$130 million (US$ 4 million) to purchase recording systems and cameras to clamp down on traffic violations, but failing to maintain the devices.
“We can tell by the sharp contrast that the Hau team only wanted to take taxpayers’ money,” he said.
Public safety is not its main concern,” he added.
Chen joined the two councilors and urged the city government to replace the devices and provide better equipment for local police officers to combat crime.
In response, Fang Yang-ning (方仰寧), director of Taipei City’s Traffic Police Division, said the police department acknowledged the lack of maintenance on the recording devices and said the department would devote more of its budget next year to purchasing new devices and replacing the broken ones.
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